Gold Prices Recover After Iran Denies Discussions with Trump
Good news for market players as the Middle East conflict shows no signs of peace. At the close of trading on Monday, 23 March 2026, global gold prices reversed course and strengthened (rebounded) after Iran denied any direct talks with US President Donald Trump.
According to Investing, gold prices in the market trimmed their decline to 1.7% at US$4,408.33, or approximately Rp74.71 million (estimated exchange rate of Rp16,950 per US dollar) per ounce at 15:53 ET. Earlier, gold prices had plunged as much as 8.2% at the start of the trading session.
Meanwhile, gold futures contracts fell 3.6% to US$4,444.81 per ounce. Other precious metals moved variably, with platinum down 5.2% to US$1,868.15 per ounce, while silver rose 1.9% to US$69.07 per ounce.
The recovery in gold prices is a market response to Trump’s statement claiming he had held good and productive discussions with Iran. He said he had delayed plans for military strikes on Iranian energy facilities for five days.
“Based on the atmosphere and tone of these talks, which will continue throughout the week, I have instructed the Pentagon to delay all military strikes on Iran’s power plants and energy infrastructure for five days,” Trump stated.
However, Trump’s claims were immediately denied by the Iranian side. Iranian state media emphasised that there were no direct talks with the US, either openly or covertly.
The spokesperson for Iran’s Foreign Ministry also issued a firm statement that the country’s position remains unchanged, including regarding the Strait of Hormuz and the conditions for ending the conflict. This contradictory situation has caused global financial markets to move fluctuatively.
Investors had briefly seen an opportunity for de-escalation of the conflict. However, the high uncertainty has kept gold price movements limited.
Trump remains optimistic about the chances of a peace agreement. “We have had very, very strong talks. We’ll see where it goes. We have many important deals. In my opinion, the discussions are going very well,” he told the media.
He added that the chances of reaching an agreement are still open. “We have a very serious chance to reach an agreement. It doesn’t guarantee anything… but there is a real possibility,” he said.